Clue
by pitt-writer7
Summary: Tragedy strikes the small town of Forks. AU/AH
1. Coffee, Cocoa, and Breakfast Burritoes

It was winter. I hated the cold. The snow always fell light but only after a downpour.

"Achoo." I sniffed. The sky was already grey. I knew it would stay dry out for only a few more minutes. I quickened my pace into the building. I learned from yesterday the metal handle was freezing, I grabbed it with my scarf. The job was slow, I didn't have money to waste on mittens just yet. I could smell the coffee as soon as I got inside. That meant the boss was already in.

"Spence I got a case for you." Those were the magic words. He dropped a file on my desk. "Read it over, lemme know what you think." He left my cubicle before I even had a chance to sit.

"Good morning to you too." I mumbled before taking off my coat then noticing the breakfast burrito, and cup of hot cocoa sitting next to my keyboard. I picked up the little note taped to the Styrofoam cup. _Natalie. _I smiled a little then continued undressing myself. Once comfortable with wearing only two layers I walked the two feet to my left cubicle wall. I peered over. "Don't you think the food's a bit much Jones?" Those baby blues looked up at me. He smiled from behind his monitor.

"Not a chance Natalie." He said, feeling cocky. I sucked my teeth. He knew how I felt about people using my first name at work.

"It was one date Jones."

"It was an awesome first date." He shot back. "Besides, how'd you know I got that for you? It could have been Melanie." I thought for a moment. Melanie did have a knack for treating all the 30 under as her kids. You'd think she had enough with her eight grandkids always at her house.

"Your handwriting is akin to chicken scratch." I responded referencing the note he left with the food. He shrugged as if nothing was bothering him. I knew I caught him.

"Don't you have a file to read over Spencer?" _Back to last names are we? _He was embarrassed having lost another round of wits with me. He should get over it. I won every time. I sat down and took a sip of my cocoa. _This is pretty good. He may be good for something after all. _I opened the folder. A picture fell out. I skimmed over some of the pages. The police report was less than satisfactory and there were no real eye witness accounts. Just a few statements from some of the locals. I realized after some quick network searching that the case had been closed. I wasn't sure why the boss wanted me to look it over. It was ruled a suicide. I picked up the wallet sized photo and file then walked off to the big man's office.

"What is this?" I asked when I barged into his office holding the file in the air. He didn't look up at me.

"A case." He answered then took a sip from his large mug.

"It's closed."

"I'm reopening it." That's when he looked at me. He wanted me to challenge him. "I looked it over and I wasn't satisfied with the work done on it."

"It wasn't our office." I stated, not really feeling up to the task of redeeming another person's crappy work.

"I know. I made a few calls and realized that the case was looked at all wrong," he took another sip from his mug, "the local police handled it. A lot of protocol was…"he waved his hand as if he were looking for the right word, "neglected." I showed him that I wasn't convinced. His eyes shot up to the ceiling. "There was a conflict of interest. Did you even look at the photo?" He asked a little frustrated with me. I realized I hadn't so I pulled out the picture again.

"Teenage girl, petite, nice hair. Nothing fabulous. Where's the conflict?" I said a little harsh.

"The chief of police down there headed the investigation." I looked through the files and retrieved the police report. _Police Chief Charlie Swan. _I shrugged indicating that I'd read the page. "Now look at the victim again." I checked the picture. It wasn't until I flipped it over that I saw the name signed on the back. Then I double checked it with the report. I gasped.

"Don't tell me Isabella Swan is his daughter." He nodded his head slowly.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. That's why I want you down there to check it out. I want you to uncover whatever Forks is hiding, whether its drugs, gang violence, trafficking of any kind-"

"Drugs and gangs?" I asked cutting him off. "In that little town of Forks?" He shot me a scolding look.

"You of all people should know that violence can be anywhere." He said. He knew he had me with that one.

"Okay, if they're hiding all this mischief so well what do you want me to do?" He smiled that evil little smile he gives me when he's about to give news that I don't like.

"I want you to go undercover. You're the only one here that can pass for a teenager-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold your horses Sarge! I am not going as a teenager. My lowest age is college freshman and-"

"Spencer you fit the profile perfectly. You can still pass for a one of those kids. Shouldn't you be happy that you age so gracefully? I need you to do this for me." His words were actually heartfelt, it was the only reason I didn't threaten to press sexual harassment charges against him for that sneaky comment about my age.

"What's in it for you?" He looked at me surprised that I would ask such a thing.

"Nothing, it's just that Charlie used to be a friend of mine a couple years back. He helped me out when I was in a tight spot before I moved here to Seattle. I just want to try and return the favor."

"You mean find someone to return the favor for you." I added. I was pressing my luck with his good mood.

"I'm partnering you with Thomas-"

"Oh come on! Just because of that last snide comment. You know I've insulted you worst than that-" I whined.

"I need someone down there who can look like a legal adult aka your guardian and can still do some digging." He countered. "And I also enjoy exacting my revenge on you through your work." He smirked while drinking some more coffee.

"You're so evil." I said while shaking my head.

"I know. Now get outta my office Spencer." I turned and left then. Instead of going straight to my cubicle I decided to pay Jones a visit in his.

"You're kidding me right?" I asked him. He turned to me looking innocent as ever except for that false smile he held.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said. I scoffed.

"Please."

"I'm so excited that we'll be working together for the next few weeks." He said happily.

"What are you gonna be, my dad?" I teased.

"No, your 27 year old elder brother. Apparently I recently graduated from college and moved to Forks to start my own computer technician business. Cool huh?" He said in a nerdy tone. I smiled when a few of our co workers laughed at his antics.

"Wow Jones, even in make believe, you still are too old to be with me."

"Ouch, Natalie. Give a guy a break will you?" He said. I knew I hurt him a little but he was back to calling me by my first name. _Gotta put him in his place. _

"Okay, just tell me when you see a guy." I said earning another round of laughs. Jones turned back to his screen accepting defeat. I went to my cubicle still riding my high from the last few moments, and the fact that I finally had a job to throw myself into. Then I remembered what the job was and that I was going to have to pay a visit back to high school. That sobered me up pretty quick. I turned to my screen and began apartment hunting. No way was I going to let the cheap scape boss man pick a run down slum for me to live in with a 30 year old man that was pining for me. I finally took a bite, an angry bite out of my burrito. _Huh It's not cold yet. _I wasn't sure what I had just let myself get talked into, not sure if Forks, Washington had anything to hide. _At least I'll have that money for my mittens._

_

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_

"Hello class we have a new student starting today. I want you all to welcome miss-"

"Nancy Drew." I said, eliciting a bunch of snickers from the class. The wiry middle aged man looked quickly down at his roster not understanding. I quickly corrected myself. "Just kiddin teach. The name's Bernadette Coplin."I told him giving my fake identity. He looked up then, readjusting his large bifocals on his face.

"Of course Miss Coplin. Welcome to Forks High. There's a seat in the back, next to Mr. Newton. Mike!" A young man's head popped up in the back. I tried to hide my frown once realizing that he had the same features as Jones. _Blond hair and blue eyes. _I hoped that he didn't act like my 'older brother'. "Before you sit Bernadette, could you tell us a little about yourself?" I shrugged.

"Sure. I just moved here with my brother Bill from Seattle. Our parents died recently in an accident." This caused a few to break their gaze with me. The teacher interrupted me.

"I'm so sorry to hear that Bernadette." He said sincerely.

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault." I said, not wanting to gain so much false sympathy. "I'm pretty excited to start a new life here anyway." I added somewhat happily. I didn't do well with pity. This knocked everyone out of their discomfort.

"That's good to hear. If you'll take your seat, I'll begin with the lesson." He said while moving towards the chalkboard. I walked towards the back of the class where Mike Newton sat expectantly. _He looks cheerful enough...time to get to work.

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_**A/N: **Yea or Nay?


	2. Mike

I had to admit, Mike's unrelenting gaze was slightly unnerving. I returned his wide smile with a small one. It only caused his to grow, showing off his pearly whites. I sat next to him, noticing that his hand shot out immediately. I chose not return his urgency by reaching into my backpack and pulling out my spiral notebook. When I finally turned to face him, the hand still sat there anxiously.

"Hey, I'm Mike." He said. I gripped his hand.

"I know." I said as we shook briefly. I pulled my hand away before he had enough time to consider the suave move of lightly massaging my knuckles. He frowned a little. I hadn't realized this generation was so sensitive.

"Okay class, for the next month we will be reading Canterbury Tales. You'll be working in groups of four or five. I want each group to pick 5 tales," the teacher began writing out instructions on the board. I turned to face forward, grabbing my pencil and began taking notes. Mike's lingering gaze eventually died, and he began writing as well, "You'll be doing close readings, character maps, and I want a creative aspect. Also don't forget your literary lenses." I continued writing furiously, having not been in high school for a while, I'd forgotten most of the terms. Mike apparently had heard all of this more times than he cared to as he dropped his pencil and tried to casually glance at me through his peripheral.

"Did you like Seattle?" He asked. I'd almost missed it, he spoke so softly all of a sudden. It took me longer than it should have to realize he must feel awkward asking about a place that should harbor such horrible memories for me.

"Yes, I liked it well enough." I said trying to be as vague as possible. He nodded slightly.

"How are you liking Forks so far?" He asked, this time a little more hopeful. I glanced up at the teacher who was still writing and speaking, his back to the class.

"It's nice I suppose. I haven't had much time to see the sights." He chuckled softly.

"Don't worry there aren't many." He said, then suddenly picked up his pencil and returned his attention to the board. The teacher had started making a list of the different Tales to choose from. We wrote in silence for a few minutes before Mike's writing slowed to a stop. "I could show you around some time if you like." He added to his previous statement. I stopped my writing, a little surprised at his straightforward attempt at getting to know me. My hesitation must have reignited his anxiety. "Only if you want to. I mean I know this town like the back of my hand, and it might make it easier for you if you know your way around." He rushed through his words. I let him squirm for a little bit before responding.

"That'd be nice. But could you introduce me to the school since that's kind of my first priority." I said. He visibly relaxed.

"Oh of course, what did you need to know, your way around-"

"Mr. Newton, please try not to distract our new student on her first day of class." The teacher scolded Mike. His sparkling blues grew sad as a few students stifled their giggles.

"Sorry sir." He said sheepishly. He waited for a few moments, in appropriate juvenile fashion, before returning his attention back to me. "Like I was saying," his voice lower this time, "I can show you to your classes today and give you a tour later. Trust me, little is worse than being a newbie senior." He continued.

"I was actually hoping you could tell me a little about the social structure here." I said. He gave me a quizzical look.

"Wha-" I realized that I was letting my true age show with that last statement and quickly retracted.

"I mean uh, who's in, who's out, who to stay clear of. You know, like the hierarchy." His index finger popped up with his head in realization.

"Oh right. Well I can tell you that you'll be safe with me," he grinned at me then. I smiled then and half heartedly rolled my eyes. "You'll meet my friends at lunch, they're all cool…well most of them." He leaned his chin into his hand as he continued to think. "The circles are pretty standard, you'll just want to stay away from the 'fams'." he made air quotations with his fingers as he said this. I quirked an eyebrow in response.

"The 'fams'?" I asked genuinely confused and curious. He glanced quickly toward the teacher. I did as well before he continued speaking.

"They're not good groups to get involved with. You shouldn't have anything to worry about though, considering that if you're not already in either of them right now, you never will be." The idea of an exclusive high school clique was comical to me although I didn't let it show. "Of course there was one exception to that rule…"he trailed off. I could tell by how his gaze immediately focused on the pencil doodle on our table, that he was uncomfortable about that topic. If I were a normal teenager trying to make friends, I wouldn't push him to continue.

"What was the exception?" I asked. He looked around quickly, before picking up his pencil.

"Bella Swan." He said, his voice heavy with regret and some anger. He returned to his note taking without sparing me another glance.

_Bingo.

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_

**A/N:** continue?


	3. Lunch Room Drama

An invisible looming dark cloud settled between us after that confession. Mike turned on his full student mode. I wanted to laugh at the juxtaposition since I was now the one maintaining unrequited eye contact. He sniffed at some point, effectively breaking me out of my gaze. I guess I should be subtle in my interest of the girl as to not raise suspicion but I couldn't help the rush that came with finding my first living link to the dead Swan girl.

"Do you mind if we work with you?" I looked forward, and was met with a red sweater and poorly painted fingernails. My gaze drifted up slightly and I came to face with the owner of the timid voice. Her fingers twitched as if she were contemplating whether or not to offer her hand. I took the liberty to do so myself.

"Bernadette." She relaxed a little and smiled, reaching forward to shake my hand.

"Angela Webber." It was at this point that I noticed most of the students were shuffling around the classroom in an attempt to form groups. "And this is my boyfriend Ben."She added happily. Standing in front of Mike on the other side of the table was this said Ben. Introductions aside, our group decided to studiously begin working. And by working I mean, getting as much pertinent information out of each other as possible.

"Do you have lunch with us?" Angela asked hopefully. I was about to question who 'us' entailed but she cleared it up by pointing to herself and our two male group mates. I pulled out my schedule. Mike at this point must have decided there was no longer a dark cloud over us because he leaned in towards me to read the already crinkled paper.

"Yeah, she does." Mike stated before returning to a doodle he was making inside his notebook.

"Oh, good you'll be able to meet everyone then." She said with an uncertain excitement, as if she were waiting for me at any point to reject her and her unidentified friends.

"I can't wait." I replied, hoping to pull off the excited yet nervous new student vibe. "As long as none of them are part of the 'fams'." I added. The three shared a silent glance as that dark cloud joined us again. I think I saw Mike actually shift away from me. Angela let out a quick nervous laugh.

"Don't worry, we're not a clique or anything." She said with a wave of her hand. I found it amusing that she would think such a statement would convince anyone of anything. I decided to break the silence before the grin crept up on my face.

"Oh I know, Mike here was just filling me in on some of the…basics." I finished not wanting to give away too much interest in any particular subject. He looked up then and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I get to show her around later." He added, his cheerfulness coming back to life. Angela and Ben smiled encouragingly. Mike, true to his word, showed me to all of my morning classes. It wouldn't be until lunch that I would meet up with my somewhat helpful group mates again.

"Bernadette, over here!" Mike yelled as he waved me over to a table that looked pretty full already. He seemed excited to see me again, I guess I shouldn't deprive him the same sentiment.

"Hey!" I said and nodded as I made my way through the lunch crowd. Angela cleared a seat for me next to her. On her other side, sat Ben and across from me sat Mike. I was quickly introduced to Tyler, Eric, and

"Jessica Stanley." The girl said suddenly as she sat in the seat at Mike's right side. I reached my hand out to shake hers but she apparently had better things to do since she ignored it. I pulled my dejected hand back, a little miffed that a 17 year old just blew me off.

"Bernadette." I said to answer her unasked question. She looked me over then.

"So Bernie, I see you've met my boyfriend Mike." Jessica said as she casually tapped said boyfriend's shoulder. Mike found more interest in his carrots than the conversation at hand.

"We have English together." I answered her. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and flashed a phony smile.

"Jess," Angela started, "how has your day been so far?" Apparently she was the mediator of the group. Jessica droned on about every minute of her day so far. Around the time that she mentioned her burnt chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, I zoned out. I studied the lunch room and realized that it was pretty much how I expected it to be. I easily picked out the jocks, the cheerleaders, the geeks, and the loners. I realized that I'd fallen into the group of average joes. I knew these were the kids that would go to college, get normal 9 to 5s, and become your everyday upstanding middle class citizens. And they would be perfectly content. I decided to take a swig of my strawberry milk. It was then that I felt the staring.

"Ang, do you mind telling me who is trying to burn a whole in the back of my head?" I said without turning around to eye the perpetrator. I saw Angela fail at sneakily glancing over her shoulder. She opened her mouth to tell me but Jessica beat her to it.

"That's Edward Cullen." She said without looking up, and once again that dark looming cloud seemed to swallow the table. All side chatting ceased, the guys finding more interest in their mediocre food. I took a bite out of my hamburger, not bothering to profile the kid. I'd just let the girls do the talking and I'd form a picture in my own mind. "And his sister Alice. They have three older siblings as well but they graduated already." I saw Jessica glance back over my shoulder. "They're all adopted. Don't get involved with them though." She ended suddenly as she played with a strand of Mike's hair absent mindedly. My curious thirst wasn't quenched with that little bit of information so I spoke.

"Why not?" I asked her. Jessica looked at me as if I were stupid to ask such a thing.

"Just don't." She said, I could pick up the irritation in her voice. Mike looked up from his plate.

"They're trouble." I wanted to laugh at how serious everyone became with Mike's statement. I decided to spare them the discomfort of continuing the conversation and moved on to more people watching. I took another sip of my milk and nearly spit it out when I came across another interesting group of tables on the far end of the cafeteria. The tables were exceptionally crowded with similarly tan people. A center table held a lot of guys that looked alike: muscular, tall, and attractive. I really needed to lay off the caffeine if I was scoping out high school kids.

"What's with the teenage playboy mansion over there?" I asked, it caused Angela to stifle a giggle. Mike caught my eye and I could tell he found what I'd said, humorous.

"They're the kids from the Rez in LaPush." He said nodding his head in some vague direction. "Their school burned down sometime last winter, so they get bussed up here. They pretty much associate amongst themselves. A few of them are cool, but the table with the guys that look like body builders," he stated, I nodded my head in comprehension, "you'll want to steer clear. My advice, don't fall in with them either." Mike added trying to put some finality in his tone. It didn't discourage me.

"Why's that?" I asked casually then taking another bite out of my hamburger. Mike looked a little frustrated at my questioning so Jessica took over.

"Let's just say, the Cullens, and the Quileutes," She shot a thumb in their direction over her shoulder," are two families that don't see eye to eye." She explained.

"And you don't want to get caught in the crossfire." Mike added without looking up. A lightbulb lit up in understanding when I realized that these must be the two 'fams' Mike spoke of before.

"Is that what happened to Bella Swan?" I asked curiously. Forget about that dark cloud. A black hole just opened up and sucked the life out of everyone within a 3 table radius of us.

"A lot of things happened to Bella Swan." Angela said before Mike got up quickly and left the table. No one said anything to stop him, and I apparently ceased to exist at the table for the duration of the lunch period.

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**A/N: **I meant to post this last night but I kept gettin this msg about the document manager being down. **I love REVIEWS! **:D


	4. Edward

My last class of the day was Chemistry. I groaned out of habit, remembering that it had always been my poor subject in school. I was more of a biology person.

"Yes Miss Coplin. I know you are new." The female teacher said as soon as I approached her desk. "The last remaining seat is back there, next to Mr. Cullen." I smirked while my back was still to the class. It would be my first interaction with one of the 'untouchables'. When I locked eyes with him, I found myself preferring the happy gaze of Mike Newton as opposed to this penetrating glare I was receiving. Then I remembered that I'm a grown woman, and I have been known to give glares that make hardened criminals want to pee their pants. I put on my smile of triumph as I headed toward my seat. Immediately upon settling into my stool I turned to my lab partner and stuck out my hand.

"Bernadette Coplin. You are?" He looked at my hand from a side glance. His hand clenched slightly. I took his moment of hesitation to study him more appropriately not bothered by the fact that this was potentially my second blow off of the day. His eyes had a gold tint to them, his hair, I wasn't sure if he was sporting maroon or auburn locks, because I knew red hair, since I was dawning it myself, but this boy…let's just say I wasn't quite as color savvy as I originally thought.

"Edward Cullen." He said as he reached out barely touching my fingertips with his own before I recoiled. "Sorry. Cold hands." I nodded pretending to not be suspicious. He turned his attention to our teacher who began outlining the labs we would be conducting for the week. He wrote them down in his flawless handwriting. I pulled out my spiral and began writing as well. My fingers itched in anticipation of getting information out of the kid next to me. The teacher was making a chart of acids and bases according to pH number. I was already bored by the time she got to hydrochloric acid.

"So…Edward," _Jesus I almost forgot his name already. This class is screwing with my brain and I haven't been here for five minutes yet. "_How's the outlook for this course?" Auburn boy didn't spare me a glance. At first I thought he wasn't going to answer but he slowed his writing apparently to allow more brain function for his vocal chords.

"My brother says that it's a cake class." _Chemistry…a cake class? _He did a crooked half smile. "Of course he did have a 4.2 GPA at graduation." His writing sped up again. I decided to pick my pencil up and resume note taking but I immediately lost interest when I saw that the chart on the board was already 4 columns long.

"Oh so your bro's pretty smart? Does it run in the genes?" I asked, hoping to get more of an answer from my second question.

"Yes he is very intelligent. I'm afraid that our genes aren't exactly connected since we're both adopted." He said, not once appearing to turn his attention from the teacher. _Poor kid must be the dumb brother._ "Of course, you already knew that." He added as a matter of fact.

"What makes you say that? I'm the new kid remember?" I asked trying to get information as well as a rise out of him. I wasn't known for being too cordial while being slightly ignored.

"You heard my life story at lunch." He said as if it were an everyday occurrence. _Edward Cullen story telling time… whoop-dee-do. _

"Arrogant much?" He did what I suspected to be an eye roll.

"No. I know that you know that I was watching you at lunch. It would only be fitting for you to inquire of your new _friends_," he slightly sneered the last word, "my identity." He finished.

"And how do you know that? Are you a mind reader or something or do you just have super good ears?" I asked about to lean back into my chair before I remembered I was sitting on a backless stool.

"You admit it then. That I was correct in my assumption." He said slyly.

"I didn't admit anything," I said pulling myself quickly back to a comfortable position after avoiding my fall. "You just admitted that _you_ assumed I knew your story. That you didn't actually _know_ in the first place." I said waving my pencil in his direction.

"Yes, well, that may be but there's still the matter of your assumption that I'm a mind reader, which in itself could serve as grounds for an interesting hypothetical but when coupled with the other suggestion of my having super human hearing, indicates that you in fact know my story." He ended. I could practically see his head inflating before my eyes. "You killed any chance in there of your ability to falsify the truth." He added decidedly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Falsify the truth? Are you kidding me? Just say lie like every other human being on the planet." I said still managing to keep my voice low enough as to not warrant attention from the teacher who had moved on to explaining the importance of the number 7 in pH balances.

"According to your theories I may not be human so I find that my choice of words is fitting." _I hate him. _

"Whatever. I'm not sitting here having a sci-fi battle with you. Are you some really perceptive guy or what?"

"The force is strong with this one." He said sarcastically. _He's got jokes. _"I've been taking Psychology courses at the community college every summer for the past three years. It's really induced my awareness of human behavior." He concluded. I flicked my pencil between my fingers, a little annoyed with the teen next to me.

"Oh yeah, you must be pretty smart yourself then. What's your GPA?" I asked a little skeptical as to his constant need for profound statements. He turned to look at me for the first time. His mouth twitched at the corners as if he really wanted to laugh.

"4.5" He said still looking at me and waiting for a response. I simply placed the pencil in my mouth and bit down trying to hide my aggravation.

_I really hate him._

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**A/N**: Reviews are loved by all


	5. MyFaceSpaceBook

I found myself staring at the display across the hall from the Main Office. Chemistry could not have ended soon enough. I was supposed to be reporting back on my day to the secretary but a certain 5 by 7 photo caught my attention, especially since I have a wallet size of it in my purse. _Gone but not forgotten, Isabella Swan. _Her photo and thoughtful words were sandwiched between the number to the Suicide Hotline and a poster containing the number to the Poison Control Center. _Ironic considering the photo was nearly being overrun by the hundreds of school event flyers surrounding it. _Apparently I'd been gawking too long as someone decided to make their presence known behind me.

"Um…hi. Are you lost?" I turned around to see the owner of the high pitched voice. The girl was obviously shy but for some reason today I must've had a sign that read: Shy People Talk to me, I'm not scary. "You're the new girl right? Bernadette?"

"Yep that's me." _She knew it was me or she wouldn't have had the courage to ask._ "You are?"

"Kim. I'm from LaPush. I think we have Calculus together." _We more than likely do since she's bringing it up. Why didn't I notice her before? Oh right that was a morning class, didn't know she was marked then._

"Right…calc…gotta love math." I said with fake enthusiasm. _At least I got a grin out of her. _

"Are you headed anywhere in particular?" She was pretty kind I guess asking me if I was lost. It was needless though, considering school's out for the day.

"Just headed to the office." I said. She gave me a confused look before glancing across the hall.

"Well looks like you found it." She said with an exaggerated wave of her hand. _Funny. _I clasped my hands together to join in the charade.

"I suppose I have." _At least that got a laugh out of her. _I smiled in response. "I'm going to be in this building a whole five minutes more and I don't have nor know where to find for that matter, the hangout spots." I admitted. _Did I just ask the shy girl to tell me where these teens party?_

"Most of the Forks kids go up to the Port or Seattle," _So the girl does get out, "_ but we Push kids, can find fun right on our Rez." The way her eyes shifted when she said that last part led me to believe she wasn't telling me everything. I pretended to not notice.

"Considering Angeles is too far, and I'm not up for a ride back to my hometown just yet, I guess that really cuts down my options eh?" I caught a flash of sympathy in her eyes before they brightened again. I assumed she'd just had a brilliant idea.

"You're always welcome to the Rez. I can introduce you to some of my friends." _Thank you for so easily falling into my trap. _

"That sounds like fun, I may have to take you up on that offer." I admitted, already getting the tingling feeling of interrogating more members of the other elitist high school cult.

"Yeah just tell me when you want to head down there and you can ride down with us on the bus after school. As much as I wanted to say I want to go today, I knew I had to play it slow, especially since my group of "friends" had just banned me a few hours ago from speaking to this group.

"Hey Kim!" A deep male voice yelled from down the hall. Both our heads turned. The voice happened to be one of said cult members. _Tall, dark, and hand-not gonna say it. _When he reached Kim he slipped both arms around her waist. They pecked quickly but it freaked me out a little. It was one of those kisses that you would expect the hero and heroine in a movie to share before a dramatic scene in the rare blockbusting sequel. Needless to say, I'd never seen anything before like it, let alone in real life.

"Hey Jare, this is Bernadette Coplin. She's new here. Bernadette, this is my boyfriend Jared." Kim introduced us. Jared simply nodded at me. I felt my defenses go up when he started studying me. _That's my job. _"She's in my math class." Kim added. He looked like he was paying absolute attention to her while she was speaking. It was a little surreal and fake. The dramatics made me believe that they must've recently had an argument about him not listening to her, his defensive response, then her refusal to give him whatever "favors" it was that teenagers gave each other these days. However I really shouldn't be jumping to such conclusions.

"Nice to meet you Jared." I said extending my hand. He looked at it before grasping my hand in a firm shake.

"Dude you're hot." Their faces told me that I'd just said something taboo. "I mean, temperature wise. You're skin's kinda warm." They both relaxed.

"Yeah I've been running a temperature for the past few days. Sorry 'bout that." _Totally didn't buy that. _And bythe look he gave me I knew that he knew that I didn't. "Kim we should get going, we don't want Harry to leave us again."

"Harry?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Harry Clearwater. He's the parent volunteer that drives the bus for us to get to and from school. His son goes here, Seth. He's a freshman." Jared shot Kim a look as she explained. Apparently Kim was being Miss Open Ann Truthful today. _Just a bonus for me. _

"Yes and we don't want to get stranded here in Forks, then have to have Sam come get us." Kim's eyes popped open at the mention of this "Sam". She agreed quickly and they practically sprinted down the hall after throwing a few weak goodbyes my way. I followed them with my eyes for a few moments before deciding upon being the responsible student and turning in my signed schedule to the office.

_Nice girl, but that over protective boy-toy is a little much._

* * *

I exited the school, half expecting my car to be missing from the parking lot. I'd heard of worse stories of new kids getting initiated into a school. Heck when I was in high school, you prayed to only be stuffed in a locker as a freshman. _My beautiful red Malibu. _

"Hey Bernadette!" _Mike Newton, I should have known. _He was just standing near my car waving. I figured I should return the gesture.

"Hey Mike!" I waited to get closer to him and my car before continuing. "About earlier, at lunch-"

"Don't worry about it." He waved me off.

"No really, I didn't want to run you off with whatever I said or did. I just wanted to know stuff-" He lifted his hand to wave me off again.

"It's okay. I overreacted. I have to admit, she's-it's been a difficult subject for me. I guess I just got so used to our group not talking about her, then you came in and I just got a little uncomfortable." _So that's the problem. _I had made him revisit memories and possibly feelings he wasn't ready to confront. I lowered my eyes attempting to silently convey that I was sorry. "Hey don't worry about it. I noticed this car that'd I'd never seen before and thought I'd come over here and invite you to a party on Saturday."

"A party?" I asked trying to keep the excitement out of my voice at the prospect of cornering unsuspecting guests and interrogating them until their tongues fell out.

"Yeah, it'll be at my house. The whole gang will be there." He stopped leaning against my car then started to back away from me. "Don't worry I'll send you the directions on MySpace." _Totally don't have one of those anymore._

"How about Facebook?" I called to him before he got too far across the parking lot.

"Yeah that too." He called back. I wasn't even phased by the fact that he would probably find my profile within the day and do as he said.

_At least I'm not too old for Facebook._


	6. Mini skirts and Middle aged men

_Burgular Thwarted... Sucessful drug bust…Team meeting rescheduled…yada yada yada… _My email messages bored me so I opened a new tab on my web browser to house my Facebook page. A few more clicks and I was mapquesting the directions to the Newton's house.

"Where ya headed?" _Jones. _I didn't give him the satisfaction of startling me even though he'd mysteriously appeared right next to my ear. I did however earn a satisfactory groan when I quickly slammed the laptop shut before he could discern my destination.

"Nunya." I picked up the lightweight machinery and headed towards my room in the two bedroom apartment. _Courtesy of the Sarge. _

"It is if it involves the case." An exaggerated exhale did not suffice when it came to showing how truly aggravated I was by the fact that my colleague roommate had taken up a new hobby of following me around the living space.

"I'm following a lead I have." When I turned around to face him he was just staring, waiting for me to elaborate. I gave in. "I've managed to fall in with Isabella Swan's group of friends at the high school." He nodded his head as if he were impressed with my work. I didn't feel a need to say anymore so I stepped into my room. Of course, he entered as well before I could shut the door. I discarded the laptop within my closet. _This thing's larger than the one I have at my place. _

"What…is this?" I turned to see him standing over my bed holding up a piece of my clothing. His questioning eye brow alerted me to the fact that he really had no idea what he was holding. My hands automatically went to my hips.

"What if I said it's underwear?" He started to drop the article of clothing but only let it twirl on his index finger. His expression was torn between releasing the offending cloth and holding it for his more…private desires. _Perv. _"It's a skirt." I told him blandly but he didn't look as if he believed me. "It's a super mini skirt."

"It's super mini alright." He finally tossed it back on the bed. "Are you gonna wear it?" His voice took on a wavering tone between concern and excitement.

"Yeah. I need it for my lead." His eyes squinted. Apparently that wasn't a very normal explanation.

"What kind of lead is this?"

"I'm going to a party. Where there are friends. Friends of Isabella Swan." I explained in as patronizing a tone as I could muster at the moment.

"Can I come?" His eyes lit up and I couldn't believe the way I almost instinctively gave in to those bright blue pools he had the nerve to call eyes.

"First off, I'm going to this party so that I can get forthcoming answers from a group teenagers. And the best way to do that is when they're intoxicated. In order to do so, said group of irresponsible teens need to believe that I'm just as irresponsible and reckless as they are so I need to blend. Yes I'm going to wear the skirt and no you are not coming with." I explained as tactfully as possible.

"But why not Natalie? I can help you interrogate the underage drunks." He was starting to get into that annoying insistent mode.

"No 18 year old goes to a party with their nearly thirty year old brother. That's not cool so get over it." I had to be harsh with him, it's the only way to save him from himself. His kicked puppy dog look was starting to get to me. "Have you found out anything?"

"Yeah," _Good he's pulling himself together. _"I met a few of the older women while I was in town. One woman in particular, her name was uh…Mrs. Newton I believe." _Newton?_

"Did she say anything about having a son?"

"Yeah actually," he gave me this look as if he were confused as to why I was asking such a question."I think she said his name was Max or Mitch-"

"Mike?"

"Yeah that's it. Anyway, turns out she owns a hardware/outdoors store. I stopped in trying to keep up with the whole pretense of being new in town and buying stuff to fix up the place. She was telling me all about the town and the people. Real busybody if you ask me, but she pretty much filled me in on everything that happened to the town in the last three years."

"Yeah and?"

"And it turns out that she knew our dead Swan girl. Isabella worked for her for a while. She knew a lot about the family." This was apparently where the story got good because he decided to make himself comfortable. On my bed.

"Okay so what's the scoop?" I really wanted him to hurry up with the info. I needed to know if he'd gotten farther than me in the investigation that'd only been going on for 6 days.

"Turns out, Isabella Swan per Mrs. Newton belonged to a picturesque family. Father as we know is the Police Chief Charlie Swan and a stay-at home mother, Renee." I found it interesting since this was the first time the mother was mentioned. Up until then I'd assumed her dead as well." Happy home up until about 2 years ago when she up and ran out on her husband and child. Married a minor leaguer named Phil."

"Phil…" I was hoping he'd give me more than a first name. He just shrugged.

"I don't watch baseball. I've no clue who he could be." _Guess we'll just have to do a little digging when the time comes. _

"Why do you think the mother was never mentioned?"

"Newton says Charlie, being who he is, may not have told her. Or he just doesn't know how to contact her." Now _that_, I found surprising. The idea that the woman could be running around the country with her mysterious beau without the slightest inclination that her child has been dead and buried for weeks was definitely something that needed to be looked into.

"We'll need to have a face to face with Charlie at some point. Find out a little about Renee. See if she was a strong factor in Isabella Swan's suicide." Jones nodded his head so I knew he agreed with me but the slight flaring of his nostrils told me he was thinking about something else. "What is it?"

"In order to get to Chief Swan and get those questions, one of us will have to become someone he really trusts really fast. Considering that someone your age wouldn't get close to him unless you're a delinquent, I guess that leaves me developing a joy of hanging out with middle aged men." I really wanted to laugh at how calmly he said all that.

"That shouldn't be too hard."

"How's that?"

"You're practically middle aged yourself. You'll fit right in." He held my gaze for all of two seconds before sliding off my bed and stalking to another room of the apartment. _I'm getting good at this it's almost too easy to get under his skin.

* * *

_

**A/N: **I need to apologize for not updating this in like a month. I would have apologized earlier but I didn't want to just post an A/N with no story (cuz those irritate me)I need to explain that although I haven't received that many responses for this story I am going to continue it, I just want to finish up my DimPrint trilogy first then continue with this. I really only put up the first few chaps to see if I would get positive responses and I did so I will continue so dont worry there aren't that many chaps left in the other story, this one will pick up I promise! I love reviews!


	7. The Educational Party

It took me all of ten minutes to reach the Newton's house. By the number of littered beer cans on the front lawn, I could tell the party had been going on for a while. I decided to park a block away to decrease the chance of my precious Malibu being violated during the night. It wasn't until I was met with the chilly winter air that I seriously regretted having worn the black super mini. Sure, my upper body was comfortable in the form fitting hoodie, but the legs were crying out from exposure even with the cotton leggings. I have no clue how girls are comfortable in these skimpy outfits but then again, confidence is either at a raving high or an all time low in high school. _I'll try to rock this outfit for one night. _

"Bernadette! So glad you could make it!" With the amount of booze permeating the house I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by the actual host of the party and in a pretty sober state. "You look hot!" _Okay not that sober. _

"Thanks…I guess. " And because he referenced my looks, it was then that I noticed his slightly messy locks and crooked shirt. He gestured me in with a lazy wave although it seemed like it took him a lot of effort. I stepped in, a speaker blaring Lupe in my ear. I internally chuckled, half expecting to hear the Jonas Brothers being featured at the party.

"Food and drinks are in the back. Bathrooms are upstairs as are the…uh bedrooms." He attempted to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively. I let out a dry laugh to indicate I comprehended. He put on a goofy smile and offered his arm. I obliged assuming he was going to introduce me to any stranger faces. Or introduce my stranger face to all the normies. I ended up only remembering one girl's name, Laura or Lauren…something like that. I only remembered that much because the girl was off in some corner with Jessica Stanley harassing some poor nerdy type girl into talking to some jock. _Ah, the persuasive skills of teenage females._ It only took about twenty minutes for Mike to lose track of me, or me to lose track of him. I couldn't remember and I found myself getting thrown into a mosh pit of sorts that congregated by the 'DJ' of the evening, even though his equipment consisted of a laptop, three ipods, and about fifty cables leading to different rooms in the house. I was one to enjoy my personal space so when some lanky brunette decided it would benefit him to grind into me, I took it as my cue to escape. Which I managed to do, only to trip over about three teenagers who decided it would be a brilliant idea to crash on the floor of the foyer sending me stumbling in my heels and slam right into some guy carrying two cups of liquid. And it wasn't just anyone.

"Sorry about that Tyler." He looked down at his tight fitting green and white striped shirt that was now spotted with pink drink and shrugged.

"No problem. I'll just throw it in the wash." If my memory serves me correctly I went to say something along the lines of: _I'll get you some paper towels to dry it for now. _But somehow it ended up coming out as a girl-like squeal of surprise. Because he thought at that moment it would be acceptable to strip out of his dirtied shirt. "You mind escorting me to the laundry room." After taking in his less than spectacular but still surprisingly good looking bod for a teenage boy, my adult sensors clicked in and told me it would be a bad idea to follow the half naked man child into a room where no one else would likely be. "Don't worry I won't try anything." Well, if he's alert enough to sense my unease and his breath isn't screaming brewery, I guess it'll be innocent. And even if he tried anything, my two years of self defense classes will have to come into play. _Adult sensors effectively dulled again._

"Lead the way." So I followed him down the hall and down a staircase that led to the washing machine and dryer in the basement. It was dark and dingy like most unfinished basements so I decided to spark up a conversation. "So Tyler what's up?" I really tried to make that as nonchalant as possible but I think he even caught on to the forced tone.

"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want." He pulled out some detergent from a cabinet that I hadn't noticed until he opened it. He measured a small amount of it into the cap then poured it into the washer. "I know Mike can be a little overwhelming. He tries to make everyone seem welcome." He turned on the water and threw his shirt in. "I mean you've seen how big our circle is." He shut the lid and it echoed in the room making me think it was bigger than I previously thought. The fact that he knew his way around his friend's house so well and was comfortable clued me into the fact that they must share a strong bond.

"It's fine. I'd like to meet as many people as possible. You know being new and all." He nodded then took a few steps closer to me. "Have you guys been friends long?" I asked taking a few more steps backwards.

"Since we were five. Small town and most of us have been here our whole lives so everybody knows everybody even if we don't necessarily like everyone." He added a slight chuckle. " Mike, Yorkie, and I always ran in a group."

"Yorkie?"

"Eric." I nodded that I understood. "Yeah Ben didn't start hanging with us until middle school. It was always us four after that. Mike's always been the leader." By this point he'd moved to make his way back upstairs and I dutifully followed.

"Where are you in the pecking order?" I asked curious to this hierarchy within a hierarchy.

"I'm second I guess you could say. Whenever Mike wasn't around or busy with work or with Bel-uh girls, the guys would listen to me and we would hang out wherever." He added a shrug at the end. I didn't let his almost slip escape my notice. We'd made our way back to the main floor. The party was still in full swing and the house was getting a little more crowded. A few girls tried latching themselves onto Tyler because of his obvious 'shirtlessness'. He turned around to me suddenly before we even made all the way back through the foyer. "You wanna go somewhere less crowded?" I nodded, not bothering to attempt yelling over the music like he had to. We turned and headed back the way we came. He opened a door across from the basement stairs and revealed a small closet like space that held a ladder. Tyler walked in and began to climb.

"Um?"

"It leads to an empty space connecting to Mike's bedroom. Don't worry no one will be up there. He locks it during the parties. " He explained and continued his ascent. It obviously didn't bother him that he was breaking into his friend's room. I followed after closing the door back as I climbed. He pulled me up when I made it to the top and after a few steps found myself inside Mike Newton's closet.

"It smells like boy in here." I complained. Tyler laughed then pushed open a door revealing the bedroom. "So is that how he sneaks girls up into his room?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Jessica." He flipped a switch and the room was illuminated. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if he's never showed her up here. Or if she found it herself." He laughed at a joke that I was being left out of.

"Are they not close?" I asked curiously. Not that it would surprise me if they weren't.

"Jessica was the first female friend our quartet made. I mean we had girlfriends don't get me wrong, it's just none of them really lasted over two weeks tops so…" He trailed off and started busying himself with little knick knacks on the desk. "Anyway Jessica got pulled in by Mike so it was only natural to assume they would start going out. It's like we had this unspoken agreement. He'd get the first girl. Then the next girl would date me. So on and so forth."

"And that's what happened?"

"Nope. They became good friends. Really good. Jessica didn't really see anything in the rest of us. So she just stayed attached to Mike even though he doesn't have any feelings for her." He suddenly stopped playing with the thing in his hand. I realized he must feel uneasy about revealing so much to me.

"Don't worry I'm tight lipped." I said and his tense shoulders immediately relaxed again. "I mean it's high school right. Maybe the feelings just haven't manifested yet." I suggested. He nodded distantly.

"Maybe. I don't know. Everything just went wrong once we hit high school." He paused for a few minutes. I took the moment to peruse the room. On a dresser sat a picture turned face down. While Tyler's back was turned I flipped the picture up to look at it. I was met with a younger version of Mike Newton leaning amicably on a red head and vibrant green eyes. Her freckles and glasses only added to her youthful look. She smiled and it was obvious that the two were very happy. "Snooping I see." I jumped at Tyler's voice. He was smirking and watching me as I held the picture.

"Sorry. It was turned down so I-"I noticed his smirk change into a slight frown. "Is this one of his relatives?"

"No. Mike has friends besides us. He used to keep all his groups separate. Like he would hang with the girls then hang with us another time but then Angela and Ben became a thing and it all got messed up." He shook his head. "That's not a relative. That was one of his friends." His use of the past tense didn't escape my notice.

"Was?"

"Yeah was. That's Bella Swan." My stunned silence went on for an incredible amount of time. I kept blinking at the picture, then recalling the one I carried in my wallet and was plastered in the school. They didn't compute.

"Wait…what? Isn't –wasn't she a brunette with brown eyes and pale impeccable skin?" I asked. I was sure there were no blemishes on the girls face even if she looked a little plain.

"Yeah we don't know what happened but that's how she was born." He said pointing to the picture. "She shows up in the middle of tenth grade looking like a completely different girl. I preferred her as a red head." The admission caused Tyler to break his gaze with me.

"Did_ you_ like Bella?" This caused him to whip back around to face me. "I mean you said you should get the second girl that comes into the picture."

"No, that wasn't it. I knew Mike liked her. A lot. She just treated him the same way he would treat Jess. Friends only kind of thing. I mean she would tolerate his advances but that winter she came to school and was completely different. I mean no disrespect but she was a little insane." This news interested me but I couldn't let it show too much.

"How so?"

"Well the drastic physical changes she went through, sent Mike into a frenzy. Then how she starts acting depressed and distant. No one believed me when I said she needed professional help even after the incident with my van." His words sped up and I knew he was getting frustrated with his memories.

"Should I even ask?" I asked in reference to the van incident. He waved his hand but proceeded to explain anyway.

"We went to the beach one day, our whole little group and it was the first time Bella and Mike had gone to any gathering together in a while so we took my van and Ben's car. We get down there and everything's cool. I remembered I left something in my van so I jog back to get it. I put the keys in the ignition and pop open the back get in, and the next thing I know, someone is jumping into the driver seat and pulling off. I mean, if I didn't have upper body strength I would have flipped right back out the van. Anyway I look up and low and behold, I have a crying brunette squealing my tires like a mad woman."

"Bella stole your van?" I asked finding the incident random and slightly amusing.

"I didn't know what had gotten into her head but she's pushing 90 miles per hour on a back road. I try yelling at her to stop but she's not listening. She just keeps mumbling to herself and holding her chest like it's about to break and the next thing I know she lets go of the wheel about to send us careening out of control and to our sudden deaths!" His arms' flailed up dramatically and I didn't find the story amusing anymore. "I know teenage life can be hard but I was not about to let her drive us both to our graves."

"So how'd you stop it?"

"I eventually stumbled from the back to the front of the van and whipped the wheel around. We were going so fast that we ended up spinning out but we came to stop before we tipped off the edge of the road and down a cliff. By this time she's crying and apologizing and then she's out of the van and running down the road. I didn't know if I should follow her or not, so I called Mike and told him."

"And? Did he go find her?" I asked despite the fact I saw the dangers in leaving a suicidal girl alone.

"He yelled at me and cursed me out and said I was a liar. He said _his_ Bella would never do anything that stupid and that I'm just a jealous douche out for cheap laughs." How easily he said the words told me that he had to have been repeating the sentence in his head for a while. "Only I and maybe Angela seemed to get the hint that this wasn't _his_ Bella anymore. Let's just say we haven't been as close since then."

"Angela?" I asked curious to her involvement.

"Yeah she was friends with Bella longer than Mike. She was the one who took my call seriously and called Bella at home to make sure she got there safely. She did but Angela didn't let me in on any specifics. Just said she was really torn up about it and wanted to apologize to me. She never did though." By this time we were both situated on opposite ends of Mike's bed, Tyler looking down at the floor, me still holding the picture of pre-10th grade Bella.

"Do you know why she changed?" Tyler shrugged.

"I heard about her mom leaving. Everyone did. We just figured that was why she was so moody," I listened not quite believing that was the case. "I'm not sure like I said, she changed and I was still looking out for my buddy. I didn't think she was good for him so I kept my distance hoping he would get the hint. He didn't and now look where it's got him."

"Where?"

"Having parties to drown out his sorrows. I'd watch yourself if I was you. He may start clinging to you because of your hair color." He pointed in the direction of my head. I decided to change the subject.

"If you guys aren't close why do you still come to his parties? You obviously aren't having much fun." He shrugged again and turned to face me.

"He's still my friend. I just come to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." At that point the door unlocked from the outside and someone came in.

"Oh hey guys. Did I interrupt something?" Mike drawled, more intoxicated than when he had greeted me at the door. He took in both our appearances, mainly Tyler's lack of a shirt and our seated positions on his bed.

"No." I said quickly placing the picture back in its place before he caught me holding it.

"I was just heading back down to get my shirt." Tyler shot out. "Bernie got it a little dirty." He said with a suggestive undertone. I shot the boy a disdainful look just as Mike's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well well, that sounds interesting. I'll let you get to that." Mike glanced between us again before closing his door and locking it once more. Tyler turned to me and let out a pent up breath.

"Sorry about that, but it seemed better to lie then let him know we've been up here talking. He would have started asking questions." I nodded. The guy was pretty quick on his feet. _I'll just have to deal with the repercussions of the lie at school on Monday. _"I probably should go check on my shirt though." I agreed and we were on our way back down the ladder and to the basement.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, The DimPrint series is complete so I can focus on this a little more. A little longer chapter. Hopefully the events aren't too confusing.


	8. To Abstain from Confrontation

The remainder of the party was boring at best. The few other random faces that I tried to interrogate were much too drunk to carry on intelligible conversations with so I found myself skipping out early. If 2am could be considered early. When I returned to the apartment I was fortunate to not have another run in with Jones. Sunday was pretty laid back as I spent it beginning my notes on the life of Isabella Swan. Jones had spent his day in town, trying to get more scoop from the older crowd but based on his disappointed face, I gathered he hadn't found anything besides the three bags of groceries. So that brought me to Monday. I was early so I preferred staying in my vehicle. I wanted to get out and start talking to more students but I had to admit that I was a little apprehensive about how news might have spread from the events of Saturday. _I may be playing a teenage girl but I need to stop acting like one. _As soon as I stepped out the car and grabbed my bag I watched a bus pull into the parking lot. It pulled up close to the building. I decided to stay put and watch as about 40 teens stepped out of the bus. I realized they were the kids from the Reservation. I walked closer.

"Hey Bernadette." I looked up and found Kim calling my name. She had just stepped out of the bus. I found it no surprise that she was followed immediately by Jared. Her acknowledgement of my presence also caused a large amount of attention to be drawn to me.

"Hey Kim." I said back. I went to step closer to her and it was then that I noticed that nearly all the Rez kids were staring me down. I'm an infiltrating outsider…bring it on. "How was your weekend?" Jared was still staring me down from behind Kim. Her previous confidence at calling me over diminished though, when a group of muscle guys came off the bus already sizing me up. _Man! Up close they are even hot-bad Natalie! _

"It was good." Kim glanced around nervously. "How was yours?" Two of the bigger guys took a step towards us.

"It was…interesting." I felt like I was being closed in when a few more guys started to form a circle around us. Before the circle was closed though I felt an arm slip through mine.

"Hey Bernie," I looked to my right and was greeted with the sight of Tyler. "I think we should head into school now." His forced smile indicated to me that he was not simply requesting that we go inside. I turned back to Kim just as he started pulling on my arm.

"I'll talk to you in algebra Kim-"

"Calc." She corrected.

"Right." I waved awkwardly and then faced forward as we were rapidly approaching the school building. By the time we reached the first hallway of lockers I remembered that I wasn't a helpless child that could be dragged along for no reason. I yanked my arm out of Tyler's grasp. "What was that about?" Tyler stared at me like I was insane.

"Are you crazy? You can't get that close to those Quileute guys."

"I can do what I want." I didn't really mean to snap that harshly back.

"Did you not see how they were caging you in?" I had noticed but I didn't want to look intimidated. "Mike spotted them first. He sent me over to make sure you got away."

"Why didn't he just come over himself?" I asked taking a step closer.

"Well he kinda sorta thinks we're an item now…" And that statement earned him two more steps closer.

"What?" And I didn't really need to clench my teeth together to ask that.

"He didn't forget about seeing us in his room and he thinks we have something going on, so he kept telling people that went to the party and I'm sure it's all over school by now. But don't worry, we can just break up at some point today and it'll be cool." He added a shrug as if this was no big deal. So high school relationships weren't big deals to me. It was underage high schoolers being in relationships with women that had 7 years on them. _I hope my superiors don't hear about this. _

"Fine. We're breaking up first period."

"I'm not in your first period class." _Of course…_

"Okay what class do we have together then?" If my eyes weren't mistaken, I think he actually looked hurt that I didn't know his schedule.

"Lunch." _This is just peachy. _I was a little miffed that the breakup for a relationship that I didn't know existed for two days was going to become public spectacle in front of a third of the school.

"Fine."_ What I do for a paycheck.

* * *

_

Unfortunately for me, I had an obstacle to get over before I could make it to lunch. It's called Health class assembly. Everyone taking Health this semester was shuffled out of class the period before lunch and separated by gender on either side of the auditorium. Then of course we were seated in alphabetical order.

"Cates, Felicia. Coplin, Bernadette. Cullen, Alice. Okay next row." My ears perked up at the last name. I took my seat following a slow moving Felicia into the row. The short girl, Alice Cullen seemed to bounce into her seat happily and energetic. She was already talking before I was completely settled into my seat.

"Hello. I'm Alice. You're Bernadette correct?" She held out her delicate hand and firmly shook mine.

"Yeah."

"My brother, Edward, told me about you."

"Oh uh…" _Real eloquent Natalie._

"Don't worry he says you're very witty and observant. Then when he described your appearance it reminded me of a friend of mine so I really wanted to meet you." She flashed a lot of teeth with that smile. I only managed a half one in return as I was still processing her quick speech. "Have you ever had your palm read?" Okay by this point I was shaking my head, trying to figure out who this mysterious friend of hers was and wondering how she could jump to another subject so quickly.

"No, I haven't." She clapped and bounced as if she were truly excited. Before I could utter a groan of annoyance at her bubbly personality she had already latched onto my hand and was inspecting my palm. The assembly was about to start. When someone carried a sign on stage that had ABSTINENCE on it in big letters, I wanted to groan again. _I have sat through more than enough of these talks in my lifetime._

"Oh…" She had this wide eyed look of fascination. _So dramatic_. I decided to play along.

"What's it say?"

"You have the potential to live a long fulfilling life but an unnatural cause will result in your early and untimely death." The fact that she was smiling as she said this, freaked me out more than just a little. "But the good news is that the love of your life is someone that you least suspect yet trust completely." She looked up at me, that smile still plastered on her face. I held her stare for a few moments trying to read her expression for any sign of mental disorder.

"Can you actually get all that from a palm reading?" I was doubtful.

"Yes. I'm very good at what I do." And with that she released my hand and sat back in her seat just as the lights in the auditorium dimmed and the speaker came on stage.

* * *

Lunch didn't come fast enough. I grabbed my packed lunch and headed towards the normal table but was grabbed before I made it.

"Ok Bernie, here's what we're going to do. To make it painless for both of us, just come over to the table, yell at me or insult me, whatever, then go sit at another table. Got it?" Tyler was whispering like it was some big mission or something. I nodded enthusiastically just to humor him. He went and sat down at the table. I waited a few moments before resuming my trek. When I reached my destination yet didn't sit down, everyone looked up expectantly. I pointed at Tyler who had this fake look of innocence on his face.

"You Tyler Crowley are an idiot. G'day." I turned around, swinging my hair in the process. I figured it was a dramatic enough exit. I headed to an empty table expecting to spend the rest of the period observing people. What I didn't expect was for two other people to join me at my table.

"Ang, Jess, what are you doing?" Angela smiled shyly while Jessica just looked annoyed.

"We came to see if you needed anything or just some company." Angela said softly. Jessica scoffed.

"It's what we do. You broke up with Tyler so it's our job to come and join you in your anti-guy period." I felt kind of bad. I wish I could just tell them it was all fake. Angela kept stealing glances at Ben and Jessica was looking expectantly at Mike who had yet to return her gaze. The guys seemed more comfortable just having the table to themselves. I decided that I should at least make an effort to not make the girls miserable.

"So, how are your relationships going?" I had to admit, my lack of interaction with teenagers in a while made me a little rusty in the conversation department.

"Great." Angela was beaming.

"Fine." Jessica replied although it came out as more of a sigh. I felt myself start to pity her a little after hearing her story. I needed to find a way to keep the conversation going but was coming up short. I was saved by an approaching figure.

"Hello. Mind if I join you?" I looked up, well more like straight ahead to see Alice Cullen standing near our table with a lunch tray in hand. The expressions of both girls changed instantly into one of panic but I couldn't bring myself to just leave the other girl hanging.

"Sure, why not." I gestured to the seat across from me and next to Angela. Jessica was already glaring at Alice before the girl was even seated. Angela looked uncomfortable and I saw her shoot a look to the guys table. I didn't even want to know how badly Mike was probably fuming right now. "So why aren't you sitting with your brother?"

"He left early. I didn't want to sit by myself." She replied quickly as she prepared her salad on her tray. She glanced up as if she remembered something. "I'm sorry I never introduced myself. I'm Alice." She held out her hand to Angela. Angela hesitated before taking it lightly. Alice turned to Jessica next. Jessica was still glaring, she looked at Alice's hand in disgust.

"Looks like you have enough people for your pity party Bernie. I'm going to sit with Lauren." Jessica stood up and left to go to a table across the room. Alice pulled her hand back, apparently unaffected by the rude exit. She added the dressing to her salad.

"So how did you two meet?" Angela asked timidly. Alice glanced up in surprise then smiled.

"We had an assembly today for the health classes. We sat next to each other. I read her palm." Alice explained happily.

"Oh? What did it say?" Angela asked, slightly interested in the palm reading. I decided to answer before Alice could.

"Just that I'm going to have an early unnatural death." I explained with a fake happy tone. Angela's face twisted into one of horror. Her mouth was open. I knew she didn't know how to respond to that. Alice's gaze had returned southward to her salad. Angela was glancing between us. Before I could assure her I didn't believe in mystics, another person walked to our table.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you in math class. Can I join?" It was Kim. She seemed nervous yet determined. I motioned to the seat Jessica had vacated next to me. Everything after that turned extremely strange. Alice's smile faded and soon she was just straight faced and silent. Kim sat, smiled at me then her face turned into one of slight disgust. Angela was even more wide eyed, now glancing between the two late arrivals to our table. The tension was so thick that I probably would fail if I tried to cut it with a knife. _Maybe a saw would work_. "So Bernadette, I saw the confrontation at your other table. What happened?" I turned to Kim, yet keeping an eye on Alice.

"I broke up with my boyfriend of two days. Tyler Crowley." I explained robotically. It was then that I noticed our table had drawn a lot of eyes from the lunch room. The normally rowdy LaPush tables were staring us down in virtual silence.

"He seems like such a nice boy though. I guess you can't judge a book-"

"You know, if you feel sad about it, we could have a real pity party complete with ice cream, chocolate, and movies at my house." Alice cut in. I didn't quite know how to respond to the sudden invitation. Kim looked completely put off by the interruption.

"Bernadette, I've been meaning to tell you. We're having a bonfire this weekend on the Rez, you know since I invited you to come last week." I caught the tail end of a glare that Alice sent to Kim although she ignored it. The power struggle going on right now I would have found amusing but considering how seriously everyone at this table was taking it I decided I should probably say something. I turned to Alice.

"I did intend on going to LaPush sometime soon." Alice's face fell. "But maybe we could hang out some other time?" I asked. Her eyes lit up again, though not as brightly as they had before. She nodded. I found it best to appease both sides. I remembered then that Angela was still at the table. "Could Angela come along as well?" Angela's head popped as both girls agreed enthusiastically. I knew I was putting her on the spot but part of me was selfishly looking for witnesses. There had to be some reason as to why these groups were so exclusive and so feared. They had to be hiding something. I could tell Angela was itching to shake her head to decline my offer but with all of us looking at her expectantly she didn't have enough gall to pull off a Jessica.

"Great…" she mumbled. The conversation at the table wasn't nearly as interesting for the rest of the period. I turned to my food finally. _Crap I forgot to buy strawberry milk.

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**A/N: **I changed character to Bella because well...like everyone's in the story except for her though she's like the main subject. I love REVIEWS! :)


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